that after talking with house speaker john boehner over the weekend. their firps one on one in weeks. is that why republicans are saying they would swallow higher taxes for the right deal on spending cuts? we'll talk to tom cole who is making that case in just a few minutes. >>> bmw and mercedes are looking for the best selling luxury brand in the united states. wait until you hear what your money can get you these days. you're watching cnbc. ...so as you can see, geico's customer satisfaction is at 97%. mmmm tasty. and cut! very good. people are always asking me how we make these geico adverts. so we're taking you behind the scenes. this coffee cup, for example, is computer animated. it's not real. geico's customer satisfaction is q rea this computer-animated coffee tastes dreadful. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 % or more on car insurance. someone get me a latte will ya, please? >>> is the u.s. consumer in trouble? the front page on this morning's "wall street journal" says yes. but are holiday sales and shipping proving otherwise? courtney reag